WTH Hall of Shame

In honor of what Tatum Bell allegedly did or did not do (see above post), I started to think about some of the truly nuts things I've seen athletes so. Here's my very short list (with admittedly very little time to consider it) - I may add to it later. If you have your own to add, feel free to comment!

My top 3*, in descending order:

3. Carl Lewis singing the national anthem. This still makes me cry every time I see it, mainly because I can't imagine how anyone would seriously hire him to sing, sight CLEARLY unseen. "Uh oh . . . I'm gonna make up for it now." But he never does. Classic.

2. Takum Bell's alleged theft. I know it just happened but stealing the stuff of a guy who just took your place is just a little too much.

1. Chad Ocho Cinco. Even worse than the fact that Chad Johnson legally changed his last name to Ocho Cinco is the explanation he gave for doing so.

* This story wouldn't make my top 3 but it's worth adding as the list gets longer. Come on, boys, you're not there yet! Raise your level!

Yes, They Can

Of course I couldn't not mention the fact that Venus and Serena (you know their names) played an awesome quarterfinal last night. I don't have much to add here except to say that while it sucks that they had to play so early, I am SO proud of these girls. I'm just now watching the match (how did I live without DVR for so long?) and I can't help but wonder if Venus didn't throw this match. I say that because they are dead even in their head-to-head matches in Grand Slams and in the other tournaments, it's just a bit unbelievable that she's spraying shots and losing so many points on her own serve, especially since she was pretty much in control of the whole match - Serena only won three more points than her sister. But it's not totally unbelievable, so I'll cut Venus some slack. It has to be tough playing someone who knows you that well. It was tough for me to compete against my friends (especially when they cheated!) so I can imagine it's worse to play your sister.

For those who have been watching tennis for a while, you know how much the commentators hated on these girls before they'd ever played a professional tournament. I LOVED hearing Tracy Austin and John McEnroe have no choice but to gush over how great they are and how far they've come - from Compton to the biggest stage in the world - especially since they, along with Chrissy Evert, were the sisters' main detractors in the days of yore. And say what you want about their effort level, their dedication to the game, but these are the definition of awesome, and they are looking rather nice in their "old age" (by tennis standards). The career of an athlete is a blip on the radar of life compared to the career length of the typical 9 to 5'er. I'm all for working what you have while you have it.

So congratulations to both of these ladies. They've certainly earned it.

How Many More?

So that "vacation" ended up being more of a hiatus that almost became permanent if not for the prodding of a few folks. So thanks to them - you know who you are. I'm now blogging on the same couch in a different state than the last time I was here. Other than that, not too much has changed. I am looking forward to September, though, because real sports finally return. I love Pardon the Interruption but I struggled to keep my interest with no sports of interest going on. That's one reason I like the fall. The other is the clothes. (Yes, I'm a woman, and I like clothes).

Now I had hoped to start it off with an interesting story, but not necessarily a tragic one. Unfortunately, life doesn't always go how we plan.

This one out of Jacksonville, Florida, home of the NFL's Jaguars, where tragedy struck over the holiday weekend when two players (one now former, since he was recently cut from the team) were involved in a shooting while waiting outside what the media is calling a "middle class neighborhood." One - Kenneth Pettway - was not hurt, the other - Richard Collier - was shot several times and is in critical but apparently stable condition. One can't help but think back on the Washington Redskins' Sean Taylor, who was killed nearly a year ago, also in Florida. I truly hope this one doesn't end like that one did.

Collier seemed to have an interesting story. After high school, thinking he didn't have the grades for college, he worked for two years at Wal-Mart. But then, he entered junior college and transferred to a Division II school where he excelled and learned the value of hard work. He never got drafted so he certainly expected to be where he was, and was probably was told he would never get where he was because of the choices he made in his life. He almost quit and went back to Wal-Mart until the Jaguars gave him his only crack at the big times, and he took it and ran with it.

I could take this and run with it, too, calling it another situation in which an athlete is in the wrong place at the wrong time, running with the wrong crowd. And that could be true. He could be another Mike Vick. It doesn't help that the storyline says that they were going to the house of women they had just met that evening.

While we don't know all of the details just yet, at the very least, we have another example of the extreme vigilance necessary to be a "have" in a sea of "have nots." But they aren't the only ones getting caught up. Right before I started writing, I caught a rare few moments of the local news and was saddened to hear about three children who lost their lives in three separate shootings this weekend, ones in which they "just happened" to be outside at the time. One of the mothers of the deceased children said she wished there was some kind of program to get these kids off the streets. (If all goes according to *my* plans in the election this year, we will.) But no program will work without buy-in from the rest of us, and buy-in means giving time to change things where we can, no matter how small. We can't get used to this, folks.

My prayers for a speedy recovery to Richard Collier.

Coming Soon: U.S. Open trip recap

FYI, I did make it to the U.S. Open again this year. It's quickly becoming an enjoyable annual tradition. Stay tuned for my pics and post on my trip . . .

And another FYI . . . since Marat Safin did NOT stay in the tournament long enough for me to snap any pics of him, I'll use this one instead. (He did stay long enough to get fined, though). I don't think I could have captured this in person anyway.

No More Spin the Squid

Because I like to switch it up, while I continue to enjoy my writing vacation, I thought I'd make my first mini-post about hockey.

For those who are not aware, the Detroit Red Wings have a tradition of throwing octopi on the ice. While I'd love to use this space to explain why this happens, it's probably easier for you just to click here.

Just in time for the second round of the NHL Playoffs (I know you've watched a game), the league has taken a page from the No Fun League and passed a rule banning the Red Wings' rink master, Al Sobotka, who has been driving the zamboni that cleans the ice for over 30 years, from twisting the octopus around his head and spinning it like a helicopter. According to the NHL, "matter flies off the octopus and gets on the ice when he does it." I have to believe that there are worse and perhaps more slippery things than octopus matter on the ice.

No penalty for the fan who throws the octopus on the ice in the first place, which it seems would be fairly easy to police. I guess hockey can't afford to turn away any fans, though, huh?

MYSF*: Kenny Smith's Hyperdunks Are Defective

I will be back soon with regular posts, but this couldn't wait until Monday.

It gets funnier after multiple watchings. These guys deserve an Emmy!




*Usually it's Make Ya Smile Mondays, but like I said above, this one couldn't wait. Enjoy your weekend!

Running On the Other Side*

Greetings from the other side of the world!

I am going to make this REALLY quick because I'm paying by the half hour but I had a few thoughts to drop:

1. Is the Miami Heat trying to get kicked down to the D-League? 54 points in a whole game? You're not even trying. Shame on you, Pat Riley. No excuse.

2. Today, the NCAA tournament kicks off. I'm not making any predictions, but I am making a request, and that is that I don't have to see Psycho T tearing down any nets. Please.

3. Right before I left, I heard Bob Knight complain about how some good teams don't make it into the tournament in favor of lesser teams that prevail in their confrence tournaments and how much of a travesty this is. I disagree. That's the beauty of the tournament. Smaller programs would never see the light of day much less get the opportunity to take down the nation's best teams if they did it any other way. We loved the New York Giants, we love Cinderellas. That's why people watch. But while an upset or two is nice, we don't want to see the Cinderella necessarily win the whole thing . . . at least I don't. It's fun for a little while but let's not get too carried away.

4. Andrew Bynum might return to the L.A. Lakers lineup just in time for the Lakers run through the playoffs. Man, this is going to be an interesting Western Conference finals. Over on the East, snooze city. I read an article in Time magazine in which readers got to ask questions of NBA Commissioner David Stern. One reader asked about the sorry state of the NY Knicks and whether he was concerned at all. Stern replied with the usual party line about this being a time to build and they'll be back. Ok, well when he gets over the shock of the poor ratings between East and West, I think he just might change his tune.

5. So top-ranked high school QB recruit Terrelle Pryor went with Ohio State as his college of choice. Michigan must be quite upset, but Pryor went with the possibility of sitting a year over coming in and starting in a program that I must admit is pretty darn good. And yes, it's no Michigan in terms of academics (although not shabby as one of the smartest lawyers - not an oxymoron - I know went there) but somehow I don't think that figured into the equation . . . All the best for a great career there, though, kid. Believe the hype, but not too much of it.

*Ode to an all-time fave by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The song is much darker than I meant the title here to be, but it fit.